Do I need to have a meeting at the offices of the solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Neath so that I can attend their offices when needed.

These days approved lawyers for lenders carry out the vast majority of work through the post, e-mail or over phone calls. This enables them to undertake the legal work for your home move regardless of where you live in the country. That being said you should check if you can still book an appointment to visit conveyancing lawyer if you prefer.

Me and my brother own a terraced Edwardian house in Neath. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Nationwide Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. Is it worth asking Nationwide Building Society to clarify?

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Neath and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.

We are 18 days into a freehold purchase having been directed to conveyancers by the estate agent to execute conveyancing in Neath. I am am starting to be dissatisfied with the quality of service. Could you you assist me in finding new solicitors?

A solicitor would need to be very bad in order to consider replacing them. Has the mortgage offer been generated? In the event that it has you must inform them of the new solicitor and have the offer are re-sent. Your solicitor ideally should be on the banks approved list to avoid added charges and delays. So that should be your first question of the new solicitors. The find a solicitor tool will assist you in finding a bank approved conveyancer for your home move in Neath

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Neath with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Neath can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ conveyancers.
If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Neath conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later. You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Neath state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. If you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Neath - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. For most Neath leaseholds the outlay for major works are not wrapped into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Neath require tenants to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works. Is there a share of the freehold?

We are in the middle of purchasing a property in Neath. Conveyancing lawyer has told us the property is "Leasehold". Does this adversely affect the marketability of the property?

Neath conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The key consideration here is the remaining lease term and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a nominal rent, it's virtually freehold, so it shouldn't impact the value too much.

At the other extreme, if it's, say, Sixty years it is bound to have a significant effect on the saleability, and probably wouldn't be mortgageable. The length of lease and ground rent will be set out in the lease which should be made available to your property lawyer.